Ironing machine



Sept. 7, 1954 H. A. SPERLICH 2,688,199

IRONING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. l/emnnu A- sfism. lcll.

AWmRA/EKJ Sept. 7, 1954 Filed Nov. 29, 1950 H. A. SPERLICH 2,688,199

IRONING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 T see ZIA JNVENTOR.

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firroRn/Efu H. A. SPERLICH IRONING MACHINE Sept. 7, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 29, 1950 I IN V EN TOR. ken/74v 4. 8154: I CM a ke.

p-rToR/ueys' Sept. 7, 1954 SPERLICH 2,688,199

IRONING MACHINE 1 N V EN TOR. A/mnu a. SP!!! ml.

Patented Sept. 7, 1954 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE IRONING MACHINE Application November 29, 1950, Serial No. 198,192

'7 Claims.

The present invention relates to ironing machines and more specifically to means for controlling the movement of the roll in the ironing operation.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a simple easily and conveniently operable means for causing the roll to be raised and lowered.

Another object is to provide a simple control for lowering the roll to ironing position and at the same time cause rotation or non rotation at the will of the operator.

Still another object is means for quickly and easily separating the roll and shoe in an emergency.

Still other objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a perspective View of an ironing machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end View with the gear drive case cover removed.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the machine without the supporting legs.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing in elevation the operating gearing and showing in section the roll lifting means and the roll rotating means.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line '!'I of Fig. 6,

also showing in section the ironing shoe.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8--3 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8A is a detail of the key actuating spring.

Fig. 9 is an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of the machine parts.

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of one of the sliding keys.

.As indicated in the drawings, the ironing machine consists of a rectangular table top member A of sheet metal supported upon inverted U- shaped leg members B of metal, the cross portion of the U being flattened and extended to provide for stability and mobility.

Mounted upon the table A at the mid portion of the long sides thereof are the shoe support C and the roll support D, these being bolted to the table and to a heavy reinforcing plate E, extending across and underneath the table top.

At each end of the topv A are hinged extensions F which, as shown in Fig. 6, may be moved to an upright position when the machine is not in use. Since the operator sits next to the shoe and its support, this side of the machine will be hereinafter referred to as the front.

The support column C carries at its top a substantially horizontal feed table or plate and mounted on an arm somewhat below the top of the column is the ironing shoe 20A heated by means of electric coils 20B embedded in it rear face and controlled by a control element 20C having a suitable handle and dial 20D in the front face of the column. A suitable heat insulating cover ZiiE prevents too great loss of heat by radiation from the shoe 26A while a spaced enclosure member 265' open at the edges of the shoe allows circulation of air to provide for the greater comfort of the operator.

As will be noted clearly in Fig. '7, the shoe 20A is tilted rearwardly and curved to coact properly with the ironing roll 2 i, shown in its two operating positions in this figure.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 3, the roll 2| is carried in the two arms 22A and 21B of a yoke, the connecting member of which 2 !C is a tube extending through the upper part of the column or support D. These arms 2 HA and B are hollow members and in the arm 2 IB is a suitable bearing 2! D for one end of the roll Q i, the arm 2H3 being fixed to the end of the tube MC. The arm 2IA consists of a cover 22 fixed over a plate 22A which is fixed to the other end of tube 2 IC. This plate is provided with a bearing, coaxial with tube 2 IC, for the roll drive shaft 23, upon the end of which is a small gear 23A. From the latter a train of gears 223 (see also Fig. 2) extends from gear 23A to a large gear 226 fixed to a short shaft 22D in turn fixed to the roll 2 l. The plate 22A being pro-- vided with suitable studs and bearings for the train and of course a bearing for shaft 22D.

Mounted upon a side wall of column D is an electric motor 24 with its shaft extending into column I) and carrying a small drive gear 24A meshing with the larger member of a compound gear NB, the smaller member of which meshes with the larger member of a second compound gear 2 5C. The smaller member of the latter meshes with a large gear 24D freely rotatable upon a shaft 2 3E fixed in the side walls of the column.

Upon one face of gear 24D adjacent its hub is formed teeth constituting one member of a dog clutch, the other member of which is carried by a sleeve 25 splined upon the hub 25A of a gear 25B, which also carries a fixed member 25C serrated as clearly shown in Fig. 9.

The gear 253 through a train 25D of idler gears drives a small gear 23B located within tube 2 IC and fixed to the end of the roll driving shaft 23. Upon the other face of gear 24D is a hub extension 30 provided with slots for the reception of sliding keys 30A of which there are two located 180 apart in slots in a sleeve 30B freely rotatable upon shaft 24E. Upon the end of sleeve 30B away from gear 24D is keyed an eccentric 3| on which rolls a small roller 3|A, contact between the two being maintained by means of a strap 3|B passing around both the roller and the eccentric. This roller 3|A is carried near the end of a leaf spring lever arm 32, the other end of which is fixed in a casting 32A located within the yoke member 2|C. This casting 32A is movable rotatively within the tube, the tube being slotted as at 32B for this purpose. In ordinary operation, however, the casting 32A is fixed against such relative rotation by the means shown in Fig. 7. Upon the tube 2|C is fixed a hollow boss or casing 33 in which is pivoted a lever 33A, the outer end of which projects upwardly a convenient distance and is provided with a handle 33B. At its lower end, it is provided with a nose 33C adapted to coact with a spring pressed plunger 33D, the lower end of which terminates in a plate or key 33E passing through a slot in the tube 2|C and. into a corresponding slot in the casting 32A.

In its normal position, i. e., during the usual ironing and pressing operations, the plate 33E holds the casting and tube against relative movement. But, if it becomes desirable to separate the roll and shoe quickly and to a greater distance than normal, the lever 33A is moved backward to withdraw the plate 33F and further movement will elevate the roller, the casing 33 acting as a stop to prevent further relative movement between the lever and the tube 2|C.

In Fig. '7 the full line showing of the roll 2| shows it as elevated in ordinary ironing operations. Its position against the ironing shoe is indicated at |2| and its emergency elevation at 22!.

As indicated above, rotation of roll 2| is accomplished from gear 241) through clutch 25, and the raising and lowering of the roll through eccentric 3| and lever 32. However, these operations are controlled so that the roll rotates only when lowered against the shoe and then only when desired. In other words, the operator may use the same controls for ironing or for pressing.

The control of clutch 25 is accomplished by means of a lever 35 pivoted at 35A and provided with a nose 35B adapted to enter a groove 35C in the sleeve 25 (see Fig. 9). One side of the groove 35C is smooth, while the other side is serrated as shown at 35D. When the other end of the lever is swung upward, the nose 35B pushes the sleeve into engagement with gear 24D. When it is moved in the reverse direction, the nose engages the curved serrations 35D and the rotating sleeve aids in the clutch disengagement.

Lever 35 is operated by a second lever 40 (see Fig. 8), a portion of which, 40A, is embraced by the forked end of lever 35, this lever 40 being fixed to a shaft 4| oscillatable by an arm 4|A connected through link MB to a bell crank 4|C located under the table top and itself connected to the control pad actuable by the operator as will be described later.

Lever 35 assumes one of the three positions D, E and F as indicated in Fig. 9. The D position is the clutch engaged position, in which the roll 2| is rotated. The E position is assumed when pressing without roll rotation. The F position is idle that is the position in which the roll is elevated as in normal operation, and is not being rotated.

The lever 40, shown in elevation in Fig. 8, swings with shaft 4|, and is provided with two arms as shown, the arm 40A being the one c0- acting with lever 35. The other arm 4013, when idle, prevents the sliding into engaging position of the sliding keys 30A (see Fig. 6), the other key 30A being held out of engagement by the ring 42. This ring 42 as shown in Fig. 10 is a sheet metal band of two widths, the narrower one of which 42A extends for half the circumference and leads into two inclined cam edges 42B and to the wider portion which is somewhat less than one half the circumference.

The sliding keys, one of which is shown in Fig. 11, are provided with a lug |3|3A which coacts with the ring 42, the wide portion of the latter maintaining the key in withdrawn or disengaged position.

The keys 39A are biased toward engaging position by a spring 43 having a forked end, as shown in Fig. 8A, the arms being of such length as to be in position to act on both keys when the latter are idle. Only one of said keys, however, can be held out of engagement by the ring 42 since the wide part of the ring is less than The other key is held out of engagement by the arm 40B of lever 40 (see Fig. 6). Therefore, when the lever 48 is moved downwardly to the position of Fig. 8, this latter key 30A is allowed to be pushed into engagement by spring 43 and will thereby produce rotation of sleeve 303 one half a revolution until the cam 42B pulls it out of engagement.

In rotating the half revolution, the eccentric 3| will of course be also rotated one half a revolution and thereby move the roller 3|A up or down and with it the spring arm 32 fixed to roll 2|.

The lever 4|), as stated above, is actuated by the link MB and bellcrank MC. The latter is pivoted at MD and is itself actuated through link 45 by another bell crank 46 pivoted upon a plate 46A fixed to the plate E. Also pivoted on plate 46A is an arm 4! which together with another pivoted arm 41A of equal length and spaced some distance, carries a bar 47B upon which is fixed a depending pad 48 adapted to be moved by the knee of the operator.

The bell crank 45 and arm 41 are each provided with short flange portions or elongated pads 48 adapted to contact each other to provide for movement of the crank by the arm. These flange portions are of substantial length and, since the pivot of the crank is not aligned with the pivots of the arms 4? and 41A but is behind this line, the flange portions will not merely slide on each other but will rock relatively and thereby change the leverage relation, the greater leverage existing at the beginning of the movement.

As indicated in Fig. 6, the pad 48 may be adjusted in position along bar 4113 so as to fit the operator, this adjustment being shown in the series of openings I43 into which may be inserted a suitable stud |48A carried by the pad member.

In assembling the machine, the shoe assembly is mounted upon the column C by means of the two bar elements 50 and 5|, the element 50 being a bent in arc and fixed to the shoe assembly. The element 5| is also are shaped and both 50 and 5| are provided with slots for the reception of suitable bolts 52 so that a limited change of position of the assembly will provide for accurate alignment withthe roll 2| before the final tightening of the bolts.

I claim:

1. In an ironing machine, an ironing roll, a yoke consisting of a tubular longitudinal member provided at its ends with arms carrying said roll, bearings for said tubular member, an arm for swinging said yoke in said bearings whereby to raise and lower said roll, a member within said tubular member to which said arm is fixed, a key adapted to fix the two members against relative movement, a lever carried by said tubular member and having a, limited swing movement thereon, and means connecting said key to said lever, whereby said key is withdrawn by the swinging of said lever.

2. In an ironing machine having a fixed ironing element and an ironing element movable toward and from said fixed element, an arm for moving said movable element for ironing operations, and means for connecting or disconnecting said arm and movable element at will, said means including a lever carried by said movable element, means attached to said lever and coacting with said arm and movable element to connect or disconnect the two when said lever is moved relative to said movable element, and stop means to prevent further movement of said lever relative to said movable element whereby the latter may then be moved by said lever.

3. In an ironing machine having a stationary ironing element and a second ironing element movable toward and from the said stationary element, means for moving said second element relative to said stationary element including a lever arm having one end attached to said second element, an eccentric rotatably attached to the other end of said lever arm, actuating means for rotating said eccentric, clutch means between said actuating means and said eccentric, and control means operable to actuate said clutch means.

4. In an ironing machine, an ironing roll, means including a first clutch connected to said roll for rotating said roll, means for raising and lowering said roll consisting of a yoke having arm members attached to the ends of said roll and a longitudinal member connecting said arm members, an arm attached to said longitudinal member and a second clutch attached to said arm for controlling the movement of said arm, means for connecting or disconnecting said arm and said longitudinal member at will, said means including a lever carried by said longitudinal member, means associated with said lever and coacting with said arm and said longitudinal member to connect or disconnect the two when said lever is moved relative to said longitudinal member.

5. In an ironing machine as claimed in claim 4, single means attached to said first and second clutches operable in one position thereof to effect the raising and lowering of said roll, and in a second position operable to efi'ect the rotation of said roll.

6. In an ironing machine having a rotatable ironing roll, means for rotating said roll including a gear adapted to be rotated and having slots in its face, a rotatable clutch body adjacent said gear, means for connecting or disconnecting said gear and said clutch body comprising lever means and lever receiving means carried by said body, said lever receiving means having cam means thereon, said lever means engaging said cam means during disengaging movement such that the rotation of said clutch body assists the disengagement of said body from said gear.

7. In an ironing machine having a rotatable ironing roll, means for rotating said roll including a gear adapted to be rotated and having slots in its face, a rotatable clutch body adjacent said gear, means for connecting or disconnecting said gear and said clutch body comprising a peripheral groove carried by said body, one side of said groove having cam surfaces thereon, a lever contacting said groove and contacting said cam surfaces during disengaging movement such that the rotation of said clutch body assists the disengagement of said body from said gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,670,387 Sperlich et al May 22, 1928 1,985,370 Hand Dec. 25, 1934 2,071,264 Racklyeft Feb. 16, 1937 2,191,332 Wardwell, Jr. Feb. 20, 1940 2,349,014 Sperlich May 16, 1944 

